Israeli forces torturing detained Gaza healthcare workers, HRW says

Israeli forces have arbitrarily detained and tortured healthcare workers in Gaza since the start of the latest war on the enclave in October, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on Monday.

According to the rights group, Israeli forces are abducting medical workers to detention facilities in Israel, where they are tortured and mistreated.

Doctors, nurses and paramedics released from Israeli detention told HRW they were humiliated, beaten and were put in blindfolds and handcuffs for prolonged periods of time.

The detention of medical staff coupled with the bombardment of medical facilities and hospitals has further destroyed the healthcare sector in the enclave, leaving people unable to get essential medical treatment.

Others told HRW they experienced or saw sexual abuse and rape, as well as the denial of medical care amid poor detention conditions.

"The Israeli government’s mistreatment of Palestinian healthcare workers has continued in the shadows and needs to immediately stop," Balkees Jarrah, the acting Middle East director at HRW said in a statement.

Jarrah also called for a thorough investigation into the torture of medical staff and for perpetrators to be held accountable by the International Criminal Court and other organisations.

Healthcare workers who were detained by Israeli forces from November and December told HRW they were abducted while working in medical centres and hospitals and not given a reason for their detention.

HRW said they sent a letter detailing the information provided by Palestinian medical staff detained by them but did not receive a response.

Some of the staff were held in the Israeli Sde Teiman military base, which has become notorious for torture since 7 October.

Others were held in Ashkelon prison or forcibly transferred to the Anatot military base near east Jerusalem.

All of the people interviewed by HRW said they were stripped, beaten and blindfolded for many weeks on end, and pressured to confess being members of Hamas.

They added they were threatened with indefinite detention, rape and killing of their family in Gaza.

One surgeon said he was "wearing scrubs and Crocs" when Israeli forces detained him during their siege of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, Gaza, in December.

"The soldier on the microphone ordered men and boys over 15 years old to evacuate the hospital.... When they took us out of the hospital, they told us to undress and stay in our underwear" he said.

The report from HRW states that the detention and torture of the healthcare staff violates Geneva conventions, specifically article 3 which states people not involved in the conflict should be treated humanely and article 49 which prohibits individual forcible transfers within the occupied territory as well as deportations of civilians from occupied territory to the occupying power’s territory.

The rights group also said Israeli authorities for decades have failed to provide credible accountability for torture and other abuses against Palestinian detainees.

The information revealed by HRW has also been corroborated by other news organisations, including Israeli news site Haaretz which in March said autopsies of Palestinians who died in Israeli detention facilities indicated medical neglect and signs of physical abuse, including bruising and broken bones.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed 40,435 Palestinians since 7 October and wounded at least 93,534 others in the same time frame. The bombardment has levelled entire neighbourhoods and plunged the enclave into a deep humanitarian crisis.